Personal massagers provide a safe, therapeutic, and sanitary mechanism for relieving discomfort and stimulating parts of the body. Existing personal massagers are available in various shapes and sizes, and generate various types of motion. One drawback of many existing personal massagers, however, is that they typically produce an unnatural motion that is unlike any form of human contact. Moreover, existing personal massagers often have shapes and textures that do not resemble any part of the human body. The artificial stimulation provided by these massagers does not accurately reproduce the therapeutic and pleasurable sensations generated by physical contact with another human. Consequently, efforts have been made to create personal massagers that more accurately simulate actual human contact.
One personal massage device that attempts to simulate human contact is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,978,851, to Sobel. Sobel discloses several variations of a massaging apparatus that includes a stroking device and a remote power pack. One of the disclosed stroking tools is a clasping-type “mouth” that is formed from a stationary jaw portion and a movable jaw portion. The therapeutic benefits of such an unnatural clasping motion, however, appear to be limited.
Another device, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,470,303, to Leonard et al., discloses a massage device that includes a housing and a tongue-shaped massage head. Motion is generated by an arcuate rod that rotates within a sleeve formed in the massage head. While the massage head attempts to reproduce the shape and texture of a human tongue, the distortions in the massage head created by the rotating movement of the arcuate rod do not accurately simulate the natural movements of a tongue.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,460,597, to Hopper, discloses a portable vibratory stimulator that includes a stationary housing having a simulated mouth on its front end and a moveable simulated tongue projecting from the mouth. The tongue is capable of a wide range of motion, but it is driven by a complicated arrangement of metal guides, pivot pins, and rings. Moreover, three separate motors actuated by multiple switches are required to generate motion in the simulated tongue. The use of multiple switches makes the device disclosed by Hopper difficult to operate with one hand, and the use of multiple motors and complex mechanical structures undesirably increases the weight of the device.
Accordingly, there remains a need for a personal massager that more accurately simulates human physical contact.